


baby steps

by foreverwonder



Series: in darkness, we lurk. [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Police, M/M, Policeman!Kuroo, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-08-24 04:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreverwonder/pseuds/foreverwonder
Summary: Kei liked his everyday routine.
Until one day it was disrupted by a tall, messy-haired policeman.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a oneshot drabble in the same AU as sugar and salt about Kuroo and Tsukishima meeting for the first time.
> 
> It's been sitting in my folder since forever.
> 
> Enjoy!

Kei found it hard to wake up that morning.

His mind was alert, already roused from sleep by the alarm on his phone, but his body felt sluggish and heavy.

So it's one of those days, Kei thought to himself, fighting the urge to just bury himself underneath his comforter and not get out.

Possibly never again.

But he remembered his roommate Yamaguchi was not in to drag him out of bed - he slept over at Yachi's last night - and Kei had an assignment he had to submit before lunch today. So it was with great difficulty that he pushed the comforter off of him and slowly planted his feet on the cool floor. He stayed that way for a few minutes, before finally pushing himself off the bed.

_Baby steps, Kei_ , was what his older brother Akiteru used to tell him when they were still living together.

 

 

 

Kei liked routine.

He hated whenever something didn't go the way it was supposed to, like when the train was delayed, or when his elusive neighbour suddenly decided to make small talk with him in the elevator. He didn't like the familiarity disrupted, which was what made many distance themselves from him. Kei didn't really care, though. Having Yamaguchi - and to a smaller extent, Yachi - in his life was more than enough.

Today was a day where his routine was disrupted.

After locking the door to his and Yamaguchi's shared apartment, Kei walked towards the end of the apartment complex when the elevator was located. He paused though, meters from the landing, when he saw his elusive neighbour standing there, waiting for the elevator to reach the floor. Kei frowned; he wasn't in the mood for small talk. He slid his big headphone over his head, pretending to listen to his music and walked past the neighbour, not making eye contact as he went down the stairs.

Their apartment was located on the fourth floor at the complex near the University. It was a steal and Kei had to thank Akiteru for helping them out with their accommodation. It wasn't too high up and down the stairs, but Kei still felt the wave of irritation coming over him as he climbed down the stairs early in the morning.

_It didn't have to be this way,_ his subconscious that sounded suspiciously like Akiteru chided him softly.

Baby steps.

 

 

 

The next thing he saw that throws him off his routine was the presence of a police car at the front of the apartment complex. Kei blinked, staring at the car blankly.

This was a rare occurrence, Kei concluded. He could count the number of times he had seen a police car with his fingers. He looked around before spotting the old lady that lived in one of the units on the first floor sitting at benches near the excuse of a small garden. She wasn't alone. Seated next to her was a uniformed personnel, with notepad and pen in his hand. Kei walked, watching the police officer's attention fully on the old lady. The officer was young, he noticed, probably a year or two older than himself. He was sitting as well, but he could see the lean muscles shifting under his shirt. His black hair was a mess but Kei couldn't help but wonder how it defied gravity.

As he mulled in his thoughts, Kei didn't notice that the officer's eyes had moved from the old lady to him until it was too late. They locked gazes and Kei was startled by the deep gold of his eyes. He flinched before tearing his gaze from the police officer, turning his back to them and walked away.

 

 

 

When Kei and Yamaguchi came back in the afternoon, the police car was still in front of the apartment block.

Kei's eyes flickered to the small garden but nobody was there. Perhaps they were into one of the units. Kei pushed the thought of the car and the officer as they walked to the elevator. Then, a door to his right opened and Kei saw the police officer stepping out, bidding the old lady goodbye.

Their eyes met again and Kei saw the slight surprise in the officer's eyes at the sight of Kei (Kei couldn't understand why). The officer's thin lips the lifted up to a polite smile and Kei, not wanting to be rude, gave a small nod.

"Tsukki?"

He hadn't noticed he had stopped walking when Yamaguchi called out to him at the elevator landing. Startled, he turned away and strode over to his best friend quickly, ignoring the inquiring looks from the other boy.

He pretended to not notice when the police car left the apartment complex.

 

 

 

_Baby steps, Kei._

Sometimes Kei wanted to scream in frustration at Akiteru.

That he knows. That it was hard some days.

But he swallowed all these feelings, keeping them bottled up. He throws himself to his studies, and his music, and sometimes wished that he could just disappear.

 

 

 

"Oh?"

Kei tore his gaze from the cereal box in his hand and found himself to be staring into a pair of deep gold eyes. He jerked backwards, before he noticed the wild turf of hair falling over the face of the person in front of him. Kei blinked and a moment later he recognised the person in front of him.

It was the policeman he saw at his apartment complex a week ago.

Kei nodded his head in greeting to which the policeman grinned before giving a small wave of his own.

"I'm surprised to see you here," the policeman said, and Kei took in his rich deep voice with surprise. "You live at the complex near the university right?"

Kei nodded. "You're the policeman," he commented to which the other man hummed and smiled, a gleam caught in his gold eyes. Looking at him, Kei noticed they were about the same height, but with his broad shoulders and dense body, the policeman looked way bigger than the tall and slender Kei. The policeman took a moment to study the blond's face before extending a hand out to him.

"Kuroo Tetsurou," he introduced himself, a polite smile on his face. Kei took a moment to stare at the outstretched hand and then the policeman's face. It was only when the smile started to falter on Kuroo's face that Kei extended his own hand.

"Tsukishima Kei."

 

 

 

_Baby steps._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* This was supposed to be a oneshot. BUT I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!! I LOVE KUROTSUKKI!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Tsukki."

Kei pulled his headphone off and turned at the sound of Yamaguchi's call and the sharp rap on his opened bedroom door. His best friend gave him a small smile.

"Could you come with me to the door? There's a police officer here."

Kei blinked once, before nodding curtly and got up from his desk, where he had been writing his assignment. He saw Yamaguchi relaxed and followed the shorter man towards the door. Kei jerked his head when he was the police uniform—and the very familiar bedhead.

Kuroo Tetsurou blinked, gold eyes widening in recognition when the locked gazes for a split second before turning away to look at Yamaguchi. "Is this all the people living here, sir?”

"Yes, officer. Just the two of us. "

Kuroo nodded absentmindedly before giving a shirt formal bow. "I apologise for the intrusion. I'm here on behalf of the neighbourhood police post to issue some statements," he shifted and Kei saw a stack of papers in his hand which he passed one each to himself and Yamaguchi.

"It has come to our knowledge that there has been a series of robberies around this neighbourhood. Those targeted were mostly the older folks, their apartments being broken in and valuables has been stolen. We are here to remind all residents to stay safe, keep all doors and windows locked when no one is home and to keep a lookout for any suspicious activities. "

Kei looked down at the information sheet to find the details Kuroo had explained printed on it. Yamaguchi hummed and nodded, giving the policeman a smile before his phone rang in his pocket.

"Ah, I have to take this. Tsukki, please escort the officer out."

His friend left to answer the call, and judging from his soft expression, Kei had no doubt it was Yachi on the line. He resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at that before turning back to face Kuroo who was watching him with a smirk.

"Tsukki, eh?" he teased, cocking his head to the side. Kei scowled but that made the other man's smirk widen.

"Can I call you that too?”

"No," Kei retorted stiffly, fingers fidgeting over the paper in his hand.

"Aww."

He didn't sound put out, but merely amused as Kei forced himself to make eye contact with the policeman. Kuroo was still looking at him, although there was something softer in his gaze this time. "It's been a while," he said sincerely.

Kei nodded shortly. "It has been a while," he replied.

It has been two months since he had bumped into Kuroo at the supermarket. During the two months, Kuroo had taken upon himself to wave at Kei whenever the blond walked past the police post on the way to the university, sometimes chatting with him whenever Kuroo was free and when Kei actually bothered to stop. Now with the term break and Kei hadn't needing to be at the university, it has been almost two weeks without seeing each other.

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around in a while," Kuroo continued talking and Kei looked at the way he shifted slight, running a hand through his already messy hair. "But then Kenma—a friend of mine—reminded me that it was the term break."

Kei nodded as if in affirmation and Kuroo chuckled. "That's good,” the policeman said, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought you stopped walking past the post because you didn't want to see me."

Kei blinked, not knowing what to say to that. Instead he changed the subject. "You're going door to door today?”

Kuroo didn't comment on the change of topic, but instead brightened at it. "Yeah," he sighed. "There’s been a spike in robbery cases here. I have this complex and the one beside to complete today. My mouth is getting dry repeating the same thing over and over again. "

"I see."

There was a lull in conversation after that. Kei hadn't realised he had averted his eyes until his twiddling fingers came to view. Hastily, he lifted his head to find Kuroo standing at the entryway still, a small smile on his face that made him less annoying to Kei. "Sorry," Kei mumbled although he didn't know what for but Kuroo shook his head, and began to turn.

"There’s nothing to be sorry about," Kuroo said. "I’d better get going.”

"Wait.”

The word came out before Kei had time to process it. Kuroo paused in his movement, looking over his shoulder to the blond curiously. Kei cursed himself inwardly, keeping his poker face on.

"Wait here," he said again before walking to the kitchen where Yamaguchi was on the phone still. He said nothing at Yamaguchi's raised eyebrow, instead opened the fridge to pull out an unopened bottle of water he had bought from the convenience store the night before. He ignored his friend's other raised eyebrow and went back to the entryway, where Kuroo stood, rocking on his heels. Kei hesitated for a second, wondering if he had gone mad, before thrusting his hand out, the cooled water bottle pressing into Kuroo's chest.

"Here."

The policeman blinked, his gold eyes widened in a way it caught the light and took the bottle in his own hand, staring hard at it. Then, a wide smile spread on his face that took Kei off guard at how young Kuroo suddenly looked.

"I didn't expect that,” the dark haired man grinned, his eyes now back on Kei's face, his gaze softened. "Thanks."

Feeling his throat suddenly dry, Kei could only nod mutely, lacing his fingers together in front of his body. Kuroo had already stepped in front of the door, the smile still on his face. He gave one last look backwards to Kei, and said, "I'll see you around." before leaving the apartment, leaving Kei standing and watching the space where Kuroo had occupied before and an astounded Yamaguchi in the background.

 

 

 

He wondered when it started.

When his eyes sought a familiar bedhead and uniform near the police post, whenever he walked to university.

He wondered when he had started using this route more often even though it was a longer route.

 

 

 

"I heard you made a friend."

Kei looked up to find Akiteru smiling at him from behind the cup of tea Kei had brought out for him earlier. His older brother had dropped by to check up on him, passing some souvenirs from his latest trip with his girlfriend.

"Is that so."

"Tadashi told me.”

Kei transferred his narrowed gaze from his brother to his best friend standing at the doorway to the kitchen who looked away pointedly.

"Did he now," Kei said flatly. He was going to kill Yamaguchi.

Akiteru was now twisting to face him at the other side of the sofa, leaning over after having put away his cup, his face shining in excitement. "So?" he asked. "Who's this person? How did you meet them? "

Kei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It’s nothing,” he replied curtly, turning away to look down at his twiddling fingers. He could feel the disapproval from his brother at his response.

"It’s not nothing, Kei,” Akiteru said gently, as though he was talking to a child instead of a twenty-year old man. "Like I said, you just have to take baby steps—“

"I'm not always like this, you know," Kei snapped, suddenly annoyed at his brothers coddling. "I _do_ know how to interact with people like before."

His words came out harsher than intended, and Kei could see Akiteru's shoulder slumping slightly, and causing guilt to stab at his heart.

"You’re right," Akiteru sighed, running a hand over his thin hair before it joined his other one on his lap. "I'm sorry."

The guilt feeling intensified and Kei swallowed, his eyes fixed on his hands. This wasn't how he wanted the first face to face conversation with his brother in weeks to go. He should apologise to Akiteru, but the words formed a lump in his throat and he could feel the heat behind his eyes. He then settled on changing the subject.

"How was the trip?”

The subject change wasn’t subtle, but his brother didn't comment on it, instead seizing the chance quickly, a shaky smile on his face. "It was great," the older man said simply, a shine to his eyes that Kei knew there was something more.

Kei raised an eyebrow. "And?”

There was no need to clarify what he meant—he knew the reason for Akiteru to bring his girlfriend on this particular trip. He watched as his brother's gaze softened and his lips pulled upwards as they faced each other.

"And," his brother said softly. "She said yes."

The feeling of warmth spread in his chest as Kei allowed a small smile to form on his own lips. "That’s good," he said. "Congratulations."

Akiteru flashed him a bright smile before he rested more comfortably into his seat. "I was so nervous,” he chuckled. "I almost tripped walking over to her to hug her in the restaurant. I could almost die in embarrassment."

Kei snorted. His brother glanced at him, his smile now cheeky. "You'll have to call her Saeko-neechan now.”

"Not a chance."

His brother laughed, reaching over to ruffle his hair affectionately. "You’re so cute."

Kei could list out many reasons to suggest that he wasn't cute, starting from his height, but Akiteru stood up to find Yamaguchi and tell him the news. Well, he thought, watching Yamaguchi's eyes shine with excitement at his brother's announcement, there was no need to ruin the moment for either of them.

 

 

 

The next time he saw Kuroo was at the supermarket. He was staring at the cereal boxes on the shelf when a sense of Deja Vu caused him to look up and found the other man standing there in plain clothes, a shopping basket in one hand and a smirk on his face.

"Hello Tsukki."

"It’s Tsukishima."

The smirk widened just before Kuroo let out a chuckle. Kei frowned, raising his head slightly so as to create the illusion that he was looking down on the policeman. The effect was greatly watered down due to their similar heights and Kei gave up after five seconds, sighing. "Hello, Kuroo-san," he mumbled, nodding slightly in greeting.

The smirk on the other man's face softened to a smile and Kei had to look away when he felt his chest squeezed. Kuroo joined him in staring at the boxes of cereals before picking one out to study the contents. "It's pretty late, you're on your way back from the university?"

It was almost eleven in the evening.

"Yes," Kei replied, sparing Kuroo a glance before he picked out the usual cereal. "I was helping out my professor."

"I see," the policeman hummed, "What are you studying anyway? I never got to ask."

"Chemistry."

Kuroo stilled for a moment before he rounded over to Kei, eyes wide and startled Kei. "Seriously?” his voice rose a pitch as his face flushed with excitement. "I took chemistry too! Is Takeda-sensei still there? "

His excitement took Kei by surprise who could only blink and nod mutely. "I didn't know you went to university, Kuroo-san," he commented and if it were anyone else but the policeman they would have found his words offensive but Kuroo just smiled good-naturedly, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Yeah,” he began, looking at Kei kindly. "I did. I was pretty good at it too before I decided to drop out."

Curiosity got the better of the blond. "Why?" he blurted, before amending his tone less harsh. "Why did you quit?”

The policeman hummed, cocking his head sideways as though deep in thought. “Well,” he trailed off, stroking his chin with his lower lip jutting out. “I guess I had a change of heart?”

Kei blinked, before looking away. “I see,” he said, even though he wanted to ask more. Luckily, Kuroo seemed to have read his mind before he continued to talk.

“I kinda wanted to help people out, you know. My parents forced me to take chemistry even though I was quite interested in the Psychology course the uni was offering,” he gave a short bark of laugh and ran a hand through his messy hair. “It worked out in the end, though. After a career talk I discussed my decision with my parents who finally let me do what I want.”

It wasn’t difficult imagining Kuroo standing by his decision, Kei thought as a smile threatened to form on his face. It wasn’t even hard to imagine a Kuroo in university, decked in a white lab coat and pouring over experiments. Kei wondered if they would have been acquainted in school.

“Do you like your job?” Kei asked locking gazes with Kuroo who was watching him. it didn’t take a long time for a genuine smile to form on the policeman’s face that made _something_ flutter in Kei’s stomach.

“I do, very much,” the older man said, his gold eyes glinting under the cheap fluorescent lighting of the supermarket. “I get to meet you, after all.”

It was corny as hell, and Kei could feel the tips of his ears warmed up. He bristled, tearing his eyes from the policeman as he all but grab a random cereal box before walking quickly away. “Goodbye, Kuroo-san.”

“Ah! Tsukishima! Come back!”

He heard Kuroo’s whine from behind although there was no footsteps catching up to him. He paused at the end of the aisle, turning to look at the policeman just before he rounded the corner. The policeman was still standing at his spot, a pout on his face that Kei couldn’t help but snigger lightly at. Kei could feel something warm blossoming in his chest as he let his lips stretch to a smile before calling out to the older man. “Kuroo-san.”

Kuroo perked up almost instantly at the sound of his name just like a puppy. Kei resisted the urge to snort.

“I’ll see you around.”

He only managed to catch a glimpse of the wide grin on the policeman’s face before he hightailed to the cashier, a high-pitched “Tsukki!!” trailing him.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed my fics and would like to support me further, you can buy me a [Coffee](https://ko-fi.com/A343NTS). I appreciate every little support from you readers.
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://forever-wonder2.tumblr.com/) if you wanna talk to me about my fics or anything Haikyuu!!


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